Our 25th award goes to Ann Payne and Kristen Reynolds, two graduate students of Chatham University’s Falk School of Sustainability. Their vision is to grow and diversify watershed stewardship by increasing awareness of the human-water relationship as well as promoting lifestyle choices that support a healthier watershed. Their vision will come to life through The Drop Project,…

Two years ago, Meta Mesh founder Adam Longwill wanted to make a private Wi-Fi connection to his friends’ houses. After testing various antenna designs and routing technologies for a year, he decided not to limit his network to just his friends. He recruited a team on-line, and one year ago, founded his company, Meta Mesh,…

The study of language and objects looms large in the life of local artist Brandon Boan, who currently lives and works in Wilkinsburg. Recently dedicating himself to the practice of typesetting and lithography, Boan plans to have a working linotype shop with photo lithography capabilities up and running by next year. Brandon named the shop…

Jasmine Cho decided to ride the wave of cupcake popularity by putting her own Asian-American spin on things, and the payoff has been quite a surprise to the Korean-American, Los Angeles, CA native.  To raise awareness of Asian-American culture in Pittsburgh, she began the Cupcakes & Culture Series, the first of which was held in…

Bridgette and Jason Jodon recently underwent the arduous process of becoming foster parents.  Having learned the intricacies of the system, they decided to not only become foster parents (hosting up to two children at once), but also to effect change in the lives of as many children in foster care as possible. Thus, their $1,000…

    While most Southwestern Pennsylvanians believe the deer population to be a detriment, they could hardly argue that the 40-foot Carrie Deer Head, constructed from recycled steel objects, has not been a boon to the region. The Carrie Furnaces, located in Rankin, PA along the Monongahela River, were built in 1884, operated until 1982,…

The month of May was merrier for Alexi Morrissey, founder of “First Editions” project, after learning that his idea was chosen to receive an Awesome Pittsburgh grant from a pool of April applicants. “First Editions” is an audience-generated artwork of short poems created live and on-site at Bricolage Production Company in Downtown Pittsburgh. The artist…

Good citizens of our fair Pittsburgh. Imagine a world without tasty fillings wrapped in a thin French batter. A dark, depressing world with ne’er-do-wells attempting to serve you sub-standard treats. Holy horrible hotcakes – that’s awful!  But now, citizens, there’s hope. A vigilante. A creped crusader. Not the crepes this city deserves, but the crepes…

We all know our bridges are pretty awesome. So, how do you make them even more awesome? Take color and fiber and an army of knitters and turn one of the “three sisters” into an enormous community-led public art installation: you Knit the Bridge. Led by an idea sparked by Amanda Goss, a growing community of…

We all know someone who is absolutely enthusiastic about a hobby or activity. She keeps inviting you, finding ways to make it easy and fun to join her. You finally can’t resist anymore and jump in. Michele Thom, our 16th winner of a $1,000 micro-grant, is literally inviting you to jump. Out of a perfectly…

This spring, start looking for tea pops to pop up around town, courtesy of our 13th award winner, Healcrest Urban Farm. The for-profit social enterprise teaches community members about urban farm production, green vacant land use, and youth employment and mentorship. “We have had great experiences vending around town with our products, going to markets…